Do you have any information on a Dallas County Judge ruling that the Dallas helmet ordinance is unconstitutional? This just happened last week or two. The police have also been issued memos not to enforce the helmet ordinance. It stems from a Dallas County Criminal Courts case involving a drug suspect. Judge ruled that the helmet ordinance is unconstitutional but that's all I know. That's all a police officer told me. City ordinance found invalid by the county. DA Watkins office said they would appeal but not sure what they are appealing.
Blogger Ben said... Do you have any information on a Dallas County Judge ruling that the Dallas helmet ordinance is unconstitutional?
No, that's news to me. I presume you mean a State Judge in Dallas County... the County Judge is an executive (i.e., "mayor" of the county). If the Dallas County DA is appealing, then the County sees no problem with the law.
The DPD supported the MHL because they intended to use it for "probable cause" stops (that's what an assistant chief told me) of cyclists they suspected of criminal activity/intent. Needless to say, they weren't thinking about White Rock Lake as a place they intended to enforce the law. It's possible the judge in question felt the law was leading to racial profiling.
From what I have heard it was a drug suspect on a bicycle. He was stopped for not wearing a helmet and was arrested for not wearing a helmet(I know this makes no sense, hang on). After being arrested for not wearing a helmet, he was searched and cocaine was found on his person. A judge ruled that this scenario was illegal and ruled it "unconstitutional"(judge's words, not mine). Has alot of us in the cycling community here in Dallas confused. What did the judge mean by "unconstitutional"
Like you mentioned it was not THE county judge for Dallas(the executive that oversees the comissioner's court), but rather one in the Criminal Courts Building on Industrial Blvd. I do not know if this was a misdemeaor or felony case. Don't know which judge either. Regardless, the DA is appealing this, which is strange too.
Anyway, for the time being the Dallas helmet ordinance is not being enforced till further notice. Some seem to think it was a bad ordinance to begin with and was enforced the wrong way.
Since this has happened, the police have disappeared from White Rock. I don't know if they have been re-assigned or what. Could just be the hot weather.
I hated the law because it has driven so many people away from using the White Rock Trail system. Mostly the infrequent cyclist who decides to dust off an old bike in their garage only to be ticketed at the lake. Those are the kind of people, regular people, that Dallas needs more of out riding. They vow never to return. That's it.
Ben said... From what I have heard it was a drug suspect on a bicycle. He was stopped for not wearing a helmet and was arrested for not wearing a helmet(I know this makes no sense, hang on).
Makes perfect sense. That's the "probable cause to stop and search" clause the police liked.
After being arrested for not wearing a helmet, he was searched and cocaine was found on his person. A judge ruled that this scenario was illegal and ruled it "unconstitutional"(judge's words, not mine). Has alot of us in the cycling community here in Dallas confused. What did the judge mean by "unconstitutional"
The protection against unreasonable search and arrest is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. A lot of the Civil Rights activity (and violence) was based on the police abusing this amendment.
Like you mentioned it was not THE county judge for Dallas(the executive that oversees the comissioner's court), but rather one in the Criminal Courts Building on Industrial Blvd. I do not know if this was a misdemeaor or felony case. Don't know which judge either. Regardless, the DA is appealing this, which is strange too.
It's a State District Judge. Their Courts and Offices are at the Frank Crowley Bldg.
Anyway, for the time being the Dallas helmet ordinance is not being enforced till further notice. Some seem to think it was a bad ordinance to begin with and was enforced the wrong way.
I fought that law, and it cost me $1200. All the "cyclist" groups supported it then. A case of Deja Vu, for me. Wait till they tell you where to ride.
Since this has happened, the police have disappeared from White Rock. I don't know if they have been re-assigned or what. Could just be the hot weather.
They cycle (no pun intended) their patrols so as to avoid predictability. They'll be back. The cops at WR hate writing those tickets, BTW.
I hated the law because it has driven so many people away from using the White Rock Trail system. Mostly the infrequent cyclist who decides to dust off an old bike in their garage only to be ticketed at the lake. Those are the kind of people, regular people, that Dallas needs more of out riding. They vow never to return. That's it.
Yep. Park Department employees reported anecdotally a 30% drop in cyclists on the trail after the law was passed. A great horror-comedy scene was a DPD officer in a Chevy Caprice police cruiser racing down the trail chasing a helmet-less cyclists. I'm not making this up.
Let's end the "helmet talk in this thread. One of Cycle*Dallas' team members has mentioned they're working on a helmet post, so let's wait. It's a topic that needs discussion, as it shares many of the same mythology and prejudice that empowers that other topic I like to discuss so much.
For the record, I believe helmets are good for cyclists, but that mandatory helmet laws are bad for cycling.
Yeah, I would be interested to hear what you guys think about the helmet ordinance in its own individual blog post. The DORBA website and three or four other message boards have mega threads going about this topic
http://www.dorba2.com/node/1745
Naturally after about 5-6 pages the threads all go to poop because people start arguing about other stuff. Some interesting info though, including some thoughts by a DPD bike officer.
I say mandatory safety laws are counter-productive to safety, because they lower the collective IQ. When safety requires thinking and planning and then following the plan, well people that don't think ahead will suffer the consequences. But if you make all that mandatory like helmet laws and seatbelt laws, and side-curtain airbags in cars, well it doesn't matter if you thought ahead or not, because someone else did that for you. This allows people that don't think ahead or plan for consequences to breed (or at least gives them a better chance at it) reducing the prevalence of that desirable characteristic in the general population (see the short story "Mindless Marching Morons")
11 comments:
I love this picture and the accompanying write-up. Great job!
PM Summer,
Do you have any information on a Dallas County Judge ruling that the Dallas helmet ordinance is unconstitutional? This just happened last week or two. The police have also been issued memos not to enforce the helmet ordinance. It stems from a Dallas County Criminal Courts case involving a drug suspect. Judge ruled that the helmet ordinance is unconstitutional but that's all I know. That's all a police officer told me. City ordinance found invalid by the county. DA Watkins office said they would appeal but not sure what they are appealing.
Heard anything about this?
Chandra said...
I love this picture and the accompanying write-up. Great job!
Thank you. I added the shirt for modesty's sake, but also to make a point.
Blogger Ben said...
Do you have any information on a Dallas County Judge ruling that the Dallas helmet ordinance is unconstitutional?
No, that's news to me. I presume you mean a State Judge in Dallas County... the County Judge is an executive (i.e., "mayor" of the county). If the Dallas County DA is appealing, then the County sees no problem with the law.
The DPD supported the MHL because they intended to use it for "probable cause" stops (that's what an assistant chief told me) of cyclists they suspected of criminal activity/intent. Needless to say, they weren't thinking about White Rock Lake as a place they intended to enforce the law. It's possible the judge in question felt the law was leading to racial profiling.
Interesting.
From what I have heard it was a drug suspect on a bicycle. He was stopped for not wearing a helmet and was arrested for not wearing a helmet(I know this makes no sense, hang on). After being arrested for not wearing a helmet, he was searched and cocaine was found on his person. A judge ruled that this scenario was illegal and ruled it "unconstitutional"(judge's words, not mine). Has alot of us in the cycling community here in Dallas confused. What did the judge mean by "unconstitutional"
Like you mentioned it was not THE county judge for Dallas(the executive that oversees the comissioner's court), but rather one in the Criminal Courts Building on Industrial Blvd. I do not know if this was a misdemeaor or felony case. Don't know which judge either. Regardless, the DA is appealing this, which is strange too.
Anyway, for the time being the Dallas helmet ordinance is not being enforced till further notice. Some seem to think it was a bad ordinance to begin with and was enforced the wrong way.
Since this has happened, the police have disappeared from White Rock. I don't know if they have been re-assigned or what. Could just be the hot weather.
I hated the law because it has driven so many people away from using the White Rock Trail system. Mostly the infrequent cyclist who decides to dust off an old bike in their garage only to be ticketed at the lake. Those are the kind of people, regular people, that Dallas needs more of out riding. They vow never to return. That's it.
Ben said...
From what I have heard it was a drug suspect on a bicycle. He was stopped for not wearing a helmet and was arrested for not wearing a helmet(I know this makes no sense, hang on).
Makes perfect sense. That's the "probable cause to stop and search" clause the police liked.
After being arrested for not wearing a helmet, he was searched and cocaine was found on his person. A judge ruled that this scenario was illegal and ruled it "unconstitutional"(judge's words, not mine). Has alot of us in the cycling community here in Dallas confused. What did the judge mean by "unconstitutional"
The protection against unreasonable search and arrest is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. A lot of the Civil Rights activity (and violence) was based on the police abusing this amendment.
Like you mentioned it was not THE county judge for Dallas(the executive that oversees the comissioner's court), but rather one in the Criminal Courts Building on Industrial Blvd. I do not know if this was a misdemeaor or felony case. Don't know which judge either. Regardless, the DA is appealing this, which is strange too.
It's a State District Judge. Their Courts and Offices are at the Frank Crowley Bldg.
Anyway, for the time being the Dallas helmet ordinance is not being enforced till further notice. Some seem to think it was a bad ordinance to begin with and was enforced the wrong way.
I fought that law, and it cost me $1200. All the "cyclist" groups supported it then. A case of Deja Vu, for me. Wait till they tell you where to ride.
Since this has happened, the police have disappeared from White Rock. I don't know if they have been re-assigned or what. Could just be the hot weather.
They cycle (no pun intended) their patrols so as to avoid predictability. They'll be back. The cops at WR hate writing those tickets, BTW.
I hated the law because it has driven so many people away from using the White Rock Trail system. Mostly the infrequent cyclist who decides to dust off an old bike in their garage only to be ticketed at the lake. Those are the kind of people, regular people, that Dallas needs more of out riding. They vow never to return. That's it.
Yep. Park Department employees reported anecdotally a 30% drop in cyclists on the trail after the law was passed. A great horror-comedy scene was a DPD officer in a Chevy Caprice police cruiser racing down the trail chasing a helmet-less cyclists. I'm not making this up.
Let's end the "helmet talk in this thread. One of Cycle*Dallas' team members has mentioned they're working on a helmet post, so let's wait. It's a topic that needs discussion, as it shares many of the same mythology and prejudice that empowers that other topic I like to discuss so much.
For the record, I believe helmets are good for cyclists, but that mandatory helmet laws are bad for cycling.
P.S. Helmets are also good for pedestrians, automobile drivers and passengers, people walking stairs, and those taking showers.
Also good for people who tend to roll about on the bed in their sleep. And I invariably wear one while autocrossing...
Yeah, I would be interested to hear what you guys think about the helmet ordinance in its own individual blog post. The DORBA website and three or four other message boards have mega threads going about this topic
http://www.dorba2.com/node/1745
Naturally after about 5-6 pages the threads all go to poop because people start arguing about other stuff. Some interesting info though, including some thoughts by a DPD bike officer.
I say mandatory safety laws are counter-productive to safety, because they lower the collective IQ. When safety requires thinking and planning and then following the plan, well people that don't think ahead will suffer the consequences. But if you make all that mandatory like helmet laws and seatbelt laws, and side-curtain airbags in cars, well it doesn't matter if you thought ahead or not, because someone else did that for you. This allows people that don't think ahead or plan for consequences to breed (or at least gives them a better chance at it) reducing the prevalence of that desirable characteristic in the general population (see the short story "Mindless Marching Morons")
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